Employment Permits Act 2024
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Chapter 2 Purposes for which employment permits may be granted | ||
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Purposes for which employment permit may be granted | ||
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9. (1) Subject to any requirement that this Act specifies is to be satisfied in respect of the grant of an employment permit, an employment permit shall be granted in respect of a purpose specified in subsection (2). | ||
(2) The purposes for which an employment permit may, subject to any requirement referred to in subsection (1), be granted are as follows: | ||
(a) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national who has skills that are required— | ||
(i) in enterprises in an economic sector that is of importance for either the economic or social development of the State or both, and | ||
(ii) in employments that are essential to the development and growth of those enterprises or that economic sector, | ||
and that are in critical short supply in the State in such enterprises and employments and the Minister is satisfied that where such enterprises are unable to recruit such appropriately skilled persons, or there is a shortage of such persons, that inability to recruit or that shortage is likely to hinder— | ||
(I) the development and growth of such enterprises, and | ||
(II) the economic development of, and the development of industry, technology and enterprise in, the State and the services which support such development, | ||
(in this Act referred to as a “critical skills employment permit”); | ||
(b) to provide for the employment of a foreign national who is— | ||
(i) a dependant, referred to in section 14 (2), of a foreign national who has, or had, been granted a critical skills employment permit, so as to encourage foreign nationals referred to in paragraph (a) to take up employment in the State, or | ||
(ii) a dependant, referred to in section 14 (3), of a research project researcher who, pursuant to Directive 2005/71/EC, has, or had, been granted the permission by the Minister for Justice to be in the State to carry out research pursuant to the Directive, so as to facilitate the carrying out of research in the State pursuant to that Directive, | ||
(in this Act referred to as a “dependant employment permit”); | ||
(c) where the Minister is satisfied that a person in the State has been unable to recruit an employee for a vacancy for an employment in the State, to provide for the employment of a foreign national who has the required knowledge and skills for the employment and, where appropriate, the qualifications and experience as may be required for that employment (in this Act referred to as a “general employment permit”); | ||
(d) to provide for a foreign national who is employed outside the State by a foreign employer to carry out duties in the State for, or participate in a training programme provided in the State by, a connected person— | ||
(i) in an employment that is the same, or substantially the same, as the employment in which the foreign national is employed, outside the State, by the foreign employer, or | ||
(ii) in an employment that requires the foreign national to participate in such training programme, | ||
where the foreign national is required, pursuant to his or her employment with the foreign employer, to carry out those duties for the connected person or participate in such training programme (in this Act referred to as an “intra-company transfer employment permit”); | ||
(e) to provide for a foreign national who is employed outside the State by a contractor or a subcontractor to perform duties in the State that arise out of a contract service agreement where the foreign national is required, pursuant to his or her employment with the contractor or subcontractor, to perform those duties (in this Act referred to as a “contract for service employment permit”); | ||
(f) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national— | ||
(i) to whom an employment permit had previously been granted but such permit is no longer in force, | ||
(ii) who is not in employment, or in the service of an employer, in the State, | ||
(iii) who has received permission from the Minister for Justice to be in the State for the purposes of making an application for an employment permit, and | ||
(iv) in respect of whom an offer of employment has been made in respect of an employment, | ||
(in this Act referred to as a “reactivation employment permit”); | ||
(g) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national to whom an exchange agreement, that is specified in regulations under section 47 , applies in an employment that is referred to in the exchange agreement or to which the exchange agreement applies (in this Act referred to as an “exchange agreement employment permit”); | ||
(h) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national who has the required knowledge and skills and, where appropriate, qualifications and experience as may be required, for the development and operation of a sporting or cultural activity in the State (in this Act referred to as a “sports and cultural employment permit”); | ||
(i) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national who is— | ||
(i) a full-time student, including a post-graduate student, enrolled in a course of study in a third-level institution outside the State, | ||
(ii) pursuing a course of study that is wholly or substantially concerned with the qualifications or skills referred to in section 49 (1)(c) and the Minister is satisfied, having regard to section 49 (1)(d), that there is a shortage of those skills or qualifications, | ||
(iii) required, for the completion of that course of study, to obtain experience in the practice of those skills or qualifications with which the course of study is concerned for a period not exceeding the period prescribed, in accordance with subsection (3), in an employment that requires the practice of those skills or qualifications, and | ||
(iv) required, at the end of the period concerned, to return to that institution outside the State to complete that course of study, | ||
(in this Act referred to as an “internship employment permit”); | ||
(j) to provide for the employment in the State of a foreign national who is employed by an approved seasonal employer— | ||
(i) in a seasonally recurrent employment specified in regulations made under subsection (4)(a), and | ||
(ii) during a period specified in regulations made under subsection (4)(b), | ||
(in this Act referred to as a “seasonal employment permit”). | ||
(3) In prescribing a period for the purposes of paragraph (i) of subsection (2), the Minister shall have regard to the requirements of third-level institutions outside the State in relation to the standard period of experience required, for the completion of courses of study referred to in that paragraph, to be obtained in the practice of the skills or qualifications with which those courses of study are concerned in employments that require the practice of those skills or qualifications. | ||
(4) The Minister may make regulations— | ||
(a) without prejudice to the generality of section 47 (2)(b), specifying the seasonally recurrent employments for which a seasonal employment permit may be granted, and | ||
(b) specifying the period or periods in a period of 12 months during which a foreign national may be employed in the State pursuant to a seasonal employment permit, each such period being not less than 3 and not more than 7 months, | ||
and such employments and periods may be specified by reference to categories of seasonally recurrent employments for which a seasonal employment permit may be granted and by reference to one or more economic sectors into which they fall. |